Collapsible lamp with adjustable shade



P 1958 B. R. BALTHAUSER 2,853,598

COLLAPSIBLE LAMP WITH ADJUSTABLE SHADE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 29, 1955 Sept. 23, 1958 B. R. BALTHAUSER 2,853,593

COLLAPSIBLE LAMP WITH ADJUSTABLE SHADE Filed March 29, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 n IF United States Patent C) 2,853,598 COLLAPSIBLE LAMP WITH ADJUSTABLE SHADE Barbara R. Balthauser, Chicago, 11]., assignor of one-half to Jack E. Dominik, Chicago, 11].

Application March 29, 1955, Serial No. 497,676

6 Claims. (Cl. 240-36) The present invention relates to a lamp-construction. In particular, the invention relates to a novel shade which, when associated with the appropriate lamp base affords a wide variety of illumination patterns.

In the past, numerous techniques and designs for lamps have been proposed and marketed which are intended to afford selectivity of illumination. The most common is the multiple element bulb which requires a multiposition switch. Such bulbs are generally large, expensive and are limited in use to floor and larger reading lamps. A need exists, however, for an inexpensive table lamp which permits a selection of light intensities and direction;

Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention to provide a lamp which permits a wide variety of light selection. An allied object is to furnish a lamp construction which permits control of lighting direction as well as intensity.

A further objectof the invention is to provide a lamp which may be rapidly, efliciently and eflectively cleaned by the user.

manufacturer with a lamp construction which is sus-' ceptible to a wide variety of color treatment without impairing its functional advantages.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a unique lamp construction which can be readily shipped in a minimum volume knocked-down form for ready assembly by the dealer or user.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a lamp and shade of standardized parts which may be stocked by the dealer or distributor so that broken portions may be replaced readily.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a lamp construction which achieves the foregoing objectives while remaining adaptable to mass production and consequently low ultimate cost, thus giving the consumer a wide variety of advantageous features in a low price lamp heretofore vfound only partially available in higher priced lamps.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become evident as the following description of an exemplary embodiment'of the invention proceeds, taken with the accompanying illustrative drawings, in which? Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a lamp illustrative of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the lamp illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the base of the lamp shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an exploded view in partial section showing the side portions of the shade of the lamp shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5isa broken sectional view of the spine supports employed in the lamp shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is one of the inner triangles used in joining the spine and shade of the lamp shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 7 is a top view of the lamp shown in Fig. 1 illustrating in greater detail the relationship between the triangular support members and the vertical spines.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged partial section of the joint between the triangle vertices and spines shown in Fig. 7.

Figs. 9, 10 and--11 are diagrammatic illustrations of Another object of the' invention is to furnish the- "'ice 2 the light patterns which may be achieved through the lamp construction illustrated in the foregoing figures.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of an alternative con-' struction of a lamp illustrative of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a top view of the lamp shown in perspective in Fig. 12.

The present invention has to do with a novel lamp construction which inexpensively permits the manufacture and sale of a lamp providing a wide variety of light intensity and directional selectivity.

Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be seen from the perspective view of one embodiment of the lamp that the lamp 10 contemplates a base unit 20 and a shade assembly 30. The shade 30 comprises a plurality of pleated panel portions 31, adjacent pairs of which are alternatively translucent and opaque. A triangular join ing mechanism of the shade assembly provides for folding the panel portions 31 of the shade to present a wide variety of light patterns as will be described later.

In top view, the lamp appears as is shown in Fig. 2. There it will be seen that the bulb 21 has a cap 22 which prevents light from projecting directly upwardly. The bulbis fitted into a socket 24 (see Fig. 3) which is mounted on a post 25 fixed to the base 26. A light cord 28 is buried in the base 26 and leads to the light bulb 21 thereby furnishing the current to illuminate the lamp. A convenient switch turns the light on and off. As the description proceeds, it will be seen that the unique features of the invention may be enjoyed if a candle or other source of light is employed.

The details of the shade construction appear in Figs. 4 through 6. The shade itself, as stated briefly above, contemplates a plurality of panels 31 which are in alternate opaque and translucent pairs and joined at their intersections by a flexible hinge portion 32. In manufacturing, it will probably prove most economical to laminate the panels to a sheet of flexible plastic, such as polyethylene, the backing polyethylene sheet serving to add rigidity to the unit and provide the hinged portion 32 at the joint between the adjacent panels. It will be noted that slots 34 have been provided at spaced intervals at the hinged joints where an opaque and translucent panel intersect. be explained later. Although hinges in the form of a flexible material have been shown, rings, loops and other hinge mechanisms may be employed to join the panels.

A plurality of vertical spines or stay rods 35 having headed and footed portions 38, 39 are provided to interact with a pair of triangles 40, an individual one of, which is shown in Fig. 6, in the slots 34 as illustratedsecure the triangle in place. The triangle is locked in place by the stay rod 35 in one direction and the shoulder 36 at the forward end of slot 34 in the other direction.

The assembled relation of the shade 30 and the triangles 40 will be more fully appreciated by referring to Fig. 7. There it will be seen that in the conventional position the two triangles overlap forming a Star of David. The vertices 41 of each of the triangles meet at the hinged joint between adjacent opaque and translucent panels 31 and are locked in place as described above by the vertical stay rods 35. Six stay rods 35 are located at the six inner hinged joints. The inner portion of the triangles describes a hexagonal area 42 which is pre- The function of these slots will The wide variety of light patterns available are diagrammatically illustrated in Figs. 9-11. In Fig. 9, by folding the triangles as closely as possible to a congruent position, the opaque panels 31 are folded back to back and the translucent panels are spread wide. This results in a large lighted area presented by the projected frontal surface of the translucent panels and a minimized darkened area defined by the folded opaque panels.

In Fig. 10 the triangles 40 have been .reversed from the position shown in Fig. 9 and the opaque panels present the largest projected area and the translucent panels are folded back to back thereby diminishing the light projected by the lamp.

By-moving the bases of the triangles 40 into close relation such as shown in Fig. 1.1, a pair of translucent and a pair of opaque panels oppose each other at one side of fin-like shields provided by backto back panels, shown in the top and the bottom of the figure, and a pair .of opaque panels appear at the other side of the dividing line. It will be appreciated after reviewing the three selections of light shown in Figs. 9 through 11 that additional patterns may be achieved.

An alternative form of the invention is shown in Figs. 12 and 13. There it will be seen that a pair of concentric cylindrical shades 50, being the outer shade, and 51, being the inner shade, are fixed within a pair of concentric grooves 61 and 62 in the modified base construction 60. The cylindrical members have alternative vertical panels 52, 54 which are opaque and translucent. Similar panels are provided in the inner cylindrical portion of the shade 51. A handle 55 is fixed to the outer portion of the outer shade 50 and permits sliding it in the outer groove 61 of the base 60. By moving the shade to these different positions a variation in light intensity may be achieved as the opaque and translucent panels alternatively overlap and separate each other. It is contemplated that polarized sections might be employed to achieve a greater degree of light transmission in the open position while retaining the potential of fully masking the light bulb 64 in one position.

In the illustration, the panels project a rectangular pattern; but different patterns may be employed and still achieve the eclipse elfect intended by the invention.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in full here, there is no intention to thereby limit the invention to the details of such embodiment. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative embodiments, usages and equivalents of the lamp as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A lamp shade comprising, in combination, a plurality of uniform elongate vertical panels, saidpanels being joined into a pleated continuous skirt by hinge means at their adjacent edges, notches defined at alternating hinged edges, a pair of triangles, the vertices of said triangles passing through the hinge notches, and a plurality of stay rods oriented externally adjacent to the hinge joints and parallel therewith locking each protruding triangle vertex at the shade joint thereby constraining the folding of the panels at their hinged edges so that alternate pairs of panels can be selectively folded into close relationship.

2. A lamp comprising, in combination, a base, a light bulb supported by said base, and an adjustable shade having a plurality of uniform elongate vertical panels, said panels being joined into a pleated continuous skirt byhinge means at their adjacent edges, notches defined at alternating hinged joints, a pair of triangles, the vertices of said triangles passing through the hinge notches,, and a plurality of stay rods oriented externally adjacent to the hinge joints and parallel therewith locking each protruding triangle vertex at the shade joint thereby constraining the folding of the panels at their hinge joints so that alternate pairs of panels can be folded into close relationship.

3. A lamp comprising, in combination, a base, a light bulb supported by said base, and an adjustable shade having a plurality of uniform elongate vertical panels, said panels being joined into a pleated continuous skirt by hinge means at their adjacent edges, notches defined at alternating hinged edges, a pair of triangles, the vertices of said triangles passing through the notches, and a plurality of stay rods oriented externally adjacent to the hinged edges and parallel therewith locking each protruding triangle vertex at the hinged edges thereby constraining the folding of the panels at their hinged edges so that alternate pair of panelscan be selectively folded into close relationship.

4. A lamp comprising, in combination, a base, a light bulb supported by said base, and an adjustable shade having a plurality of uniform elongated vertical panels, said panels being joined into a pleated continuous skirt by hinge means at their adjacent edges, notches defined at alternating hinged edges, said notches being in a common plane transverse of the skirt, a pair of equilateral triangles, the vertices" of 'said triangles passing throughthe notches, and a plurality of stay rods oriented externally adjacent to the hinged edges and parallel therewith inserted within each protruding triangle vertex at the hinged edges thereby constraining the folding of the. panels at their hinged edges so that alternate pairs of. panels canbe selectively folded into close relationship.

5. A lamp comprising, in combination, a base, a light bulb supported by said base, and an adjustable shade having a plurality of uniform. elongate vertical panels,

alternating pairs of said panels having different degreesv of opacity, said panels being joined into a pleated continuous skirt by hinge means at their adjacent edges, notches defined at alternating hinged edges, a pair of triangles, the vertices of said triangles passing through the notches, and a plurality of stay vrods oriented externally adjacent to thehinged edges and parallel therewith inserted within each protruding triangle vertex at the hinged edges thereby constraining the folding of the panels at their hinged edges so that the alternate pairs of panels can be selectively folded into close relationship thereby varying the transverse light transmission through the shade.

6. A lamp comprising, in combination, a base, a light bulb supported above said base, and an adjustable shade having a plurality of uniform elongated vertical panels, said panels being joined into a pleated continuous skirt by hinge means at their adjacent edges, notches defined at alternating hinged edges, said notches being in a common plane transverse of the skirt, a pair of equilateral 1 triangles, the vertices of said triangles passing through the notches, and a plurality of stay rods oriented externally adjacent to the hinged edges and parallel therewith inserted Within each protruding triangle vertex at the hinged edges thereby constraining the folding of the panels at their hinged edges so that alternate pairs of panels can be selectively folded into close relationship, the lower ends of said stay rods extending beneath said panels and serving to support the shade on the lamp base.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 337,548 Bacon Mar. 9, 1886 400,140 Stockly Mar. 26, 1889 480,989 Berthelemy Aug. 16, 1892 1,872,453 Holdeman Aug. 16, 1932 2,216,084 Lisbon Sept. 24, 1940 2,301,419 Lew Nov. 10, 1942 2,714,155 Johnson July 26, 1955' 2,761,959 Kunins Sept. 4, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 966,179 France; v Mar. 1, 1950 

